Tom Felton talks “Fantastic Beasts”, Warner Bros. Studio Tour, and “Murder in the First”

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In a recent interview with IGN, Tom Felton – Draco Malfoy to Potter fans – spoke about his upcoming role on the new US TV series Murder in the First, which debuted on TNT Monday, June 9, as well as some topics relevant to the Harry Potter universe: the upcoming spinoff film based on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Warner Bros. Studio Tour London –  The Making of Harry Potter.

First, Tom was questioned about his new TV series and his character Erich Blunt, an antagonist in the show. He revealed that he was originally drawn to the project because of the “edgy, dynamic” characters, but even without knowing how the series is going to play out, he is excited for what’s to come because of the people he gets to work with. He also talked about why he enjoys playing villainous characters, which obviously relates to his role in Potter:

Oh, are you kidding me? It’s so much fun. People don’t think about it as well that we’re on set for 12 hours a day and maybe actually shoot, roll cameras, for two or three of those hours. A lot of time, where it’s Tom, Taye [Diggs] and Kathleen [Robertson], we’re not in character, obviously, and I get to speak in my own accent. It’s a lot of fun. We joke around, and the camera guys are showing us how the new flip-cam works. It’s a very, very fun atmosphere, and I’m a pretty easygoing guy. I like to chat and get the day going and stuff. But when they roll cameras, you get to completely lose that and turn into someone very different. It’s very nice. It’s very empowering. I feel like Kathleen and Taye; they’re not intimidated or put off by Tom at all, but when we’re in character, I feel there’s a real power being in Erich’s shoes. He has to say very little to get what he wants. There’s something really quite fun about that.

Tom also talked about his reaction to the Fantastic Beasts movie:

I’m still kind of mix-matched on the details. My first thought was, ‘Are we going back? Then I’d get to dye my hair blonde again.’ I was getting kind of excited. But I know nothing. I’m literally an ignoramus. … but as an obvious fan of her work, I’m just excited to geek out and see another story in that world. From what I understand, she’s not revisiting characters that she’s previously written, which I think is good. Not that she would, but why risk tainting such an amazing legacy of work? But I think, as we see with these Harry Potter theme parks and various films, there’s a desire for the magical world. It’s still as strong as ever. I’m excited for all the fans, that she’s allowing people to revisit that world in some capacity.

To put the icing on the cake, he revealed that he would love to be involved in the new films:

Oh, are you kidding me? No-brainer! I’d be a tree. I’d do it just for the fun of it. I’m still lucky; back at home, I live not too far away from the Leavesden studio tours. Occasionally I’ll just throw myself in there and just have a little look around — freak out a couple of fans who are walking around.

Speaking of the Studio Tour, Tom explained how nice it is to get to revisit the world he spent ten years filming in:

[The Studio Tour is] actually really good. I was kind of prepared to think, ‘What junk have they managed to keep over the last 10 years?’ but they’ve got everything — all the stuff that I hadn’t seen in eight years. So it’s really cool for me; when I start getting a bit doom-and-gloomy and want a taste of the past, I can just go walk back through there. … we’re all so proud of what we did, I think, growing up there. I had someone ask me the other day, ‘What are you doing to try and shake off the burden of being in such a big franchise?’ and I couldn’t think of that as a more ill question. I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of it, and hopefully, I get to talk about it for the rest of my life. I’m definitely not trying to shake it off. So yeah, honestly, any excuse to revisit the cast and crew, especially somewhere as precious to us as Leavesden, is a great thing. I think what Warner [Bros.] have done there actually is really awesome. Every fan that I’ve seen there has had the best time — and it showed me how stuff was done, even I didn’t know!

You can read the full interview right here. Also be sure to check out Tom’s cast page for all the latest news on his upcoming projects!

Do you agree with Tom’s opinions on Fantastic Beasts series and the Studio Tour? Are you planning on watching Murder in the First? Let us know in the comments!